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I really do like Hinako, she’s very cute. Even though she has a fearsome reputation she acts very relaxed and sweet. I do think her moral dropped after Soma took away her Kaki-no-Tane. It was all for a good cause though as he served her that very same tea snack as part of a dish. I can’t describe it but he sort of coated the fish with the Kaki-no-Tane chips. I also really like the fact how Hinako is voiced by Mamiko Noto. I just know when a character is being voiced by Mamiko as she has that distinctive voice about her. I get drawn into her voice and characters every time. =)

Hinako summed up Soma perfectly in that he’s very creative despite time running against him. She looked pretty as a mermaid but I did crack up laughing when the man behind her had a meat-type head. I’m not really sure how else to describe it except that I thought it was funny. XD

I unexpectedly started to like Takumi in this episode. I pictured him to be an arrogant lad but I think he’s probably more awkward then arrogant. It was especially funny when he made that dramatic speech about next time he sees Soma it will be in a Shokugeki battle… only to find out that they would sit next to each other on the bus! I guess all the long he just needed a rival and a friend who he can relate with. One thing for sure, Takumi and Soma will definitely respect each other from now on.

It looks like everyone in the Polar Star gang managed to survive by one day… for now. Now all the students have to serve 50 servings each to the muscular athletes. I felt sorry for Yuuki as she was looking forward to relax but now she can’t. The way she mellowed in despair was pretty funny to watch. It does seem rather unfair on all the students that they have to prepare all those dishes straightaway when they came back from a stern test. It’s amazing how quickly Soma prepared those 50 dishes. I hope Ikumi and Megumi and the rest of the Polar Star Gang manage to make those 50 dishes just in time.

Soma and Erina humming to the ending song was pretty fun to watch. Soma’s humming and dancing was really funny watch whilst Erina’s humming was relaxing to watch. I didn’t think they would bump into each other any time soon. I wonder what’s going to happen next. I’d imagine Erina is just going to give Soma a lot of verbal abuse. Haha.

THANKS FOR READING

It’s the FA Cup Final today and I’m really looking forward to it. As I understand it if Villa win the cup, they play in the Europa League next season, if Arsenal win, Southampton play in the Europa League next season.

Either way I do feel sorry for the English teams who play in the Europa League as it must be gruelling for them to play on a Thursday and a Sunday. Look what happened to Everton. They finished at the bottom half of the table. I get the feeling that the same could happen with Southampton. They had a fantastic season last season but if they play in the Europa League next season then I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t do as well as they did this season. Having said all that, they played above expectations this season and just ran out of steam near the end. I’m very pleased for them. =)

Anyway- my FA Cup prediction.

It’s going to be Arsenal 3-1 Aston Villa. I think Arsenal will just nudge Villa out but I don’t think they’ll keep a clean sheet. Let the fun times roll. =)

I have to admit and say that I really enjoy it. I can somewhat feel the needles as they enter my body. If I were to describe it, I would say that it’s like a magnetic/electric wave spreading through my body. However, once they settle down I can’t feel them.

It really does work, I feel, as I tend to be pain free for a few days afterwards. If there’s a downside I would say that I feel very lethargic a good while. Tiredness is not necessarily a bad thing.

I didn’t really have the energy to talk much when I went to my brother’s Eurovision gathering. I went as the UK/England as there’s no country that I would rather represent then my own.

I was a little nervous as I got the letter back from the Passport people saying that I was required to have an interview, which was not really a problem. It was my first time that I ever went for a passport interview. It was going to be a completely new experience, however, on the leaflet it says that if you have a disability and you need someone to be in the interview with you, please let them know. Mum came with me as I don’t travel by myself and in case I got anxious and didn’t understand the procedure.

As is so happens I totally forgot about the arrangement and only remembered the day before. Haha. So, the anticipation build up wasn’t as bad as it usually was. I can probably handle situations better when I don’t have too long to think about it.

I didn’t really know where this place was but I enjoyed having a good walk around in the warm sun. We found the place eventually and I went into the reception area with my parents.

We actually learned, there and then, that nobody was allowed in the booth with me. I started to get nervous at that point. The problem wasn’t me going in on my own it was the lack of understanding shown by the receptionists. This did not fill me with confidence. She was also rude to my Mum and was a little patronising towards her.

My Mum tried to explain why she would go in with me, not to speak on my behalf but to re-word questions if I didn’t understand them. This is a big occurrence in my life where I don’t always understand what people say, especially when they generalise. However, the receptionist wasn’t really listening or rather she was too busy enforcing the rules.

So far I wasn’t impressed with how unwelcoming the passport people were. If the receptionist was not very accommodating then how accommodating would the interviewer be? I started to lose confidence in the fact that they weren’t going to consider my needs. It seems like they don’t really cater for people with Learning Difficulties or Autism.

The interview lady eventually called me in and she was actually really nice and friendly. By the way that she was talking it seemed like she was more than familiar with people with special needs. She was very open-minded and she did seem experience when it came to communicating with people like me. All the interview questions were very simple to understand so I didn’t have any trouble answering her questions.

I spent about 25 minutes in there and I felt actually ok by the end of it. I was somewhat surprised how well I handled the situation, especially when the receptionist dropped the bombshell that I wasn’t allowed to bring someone in with me. I could have buzzed Mum to come in if I wanted but I was doing ok by myself.

I handled that situation really well actually but I was disappointed with the lack of consideration that the staff did show. It stresses in the leaflet that if you have Learning Difficulties and you need someone to come in with you then to let the passport people know. In a way, I did find this misleading. If it was clear that I wasn’t allowed to have support in my interview, then that would have been fine. But if it’s not ok, why mention it in the leaflet in first place?

I was more disappointed and bewildered by the principal of the staff not accommodating my needs, rather than going in by myself for the interview. However, it’s all done and finished now and I’m certainly losing no sleep over it. =)

THANKS FOR READING

All I just have to do now is play the waiting game… by reading the rest of Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Light Novel Volume 2. =D That’s such an awesome book and anime and I’m really enjoying it. For all I know the passport people might refuse my application but I’m pretty confident that they’ll accept it. =)

I knew that I really wanted to go and watch Avengers: Age of Ultron at the cinema this year, but was I going to go? Eventually, I decided to go to the last showing at a local cinema with Mum. We both really like Avengers and fancy to go and watch it whilst it was still showing.

I was somewhat optimistic. As last Thursday was the last showing and it was the day of the Election I anticipated that there wouldn’t be many people at the cinema. I was really nervous when I was going out as I didn’t know what would happen. I was more hoping than anticipating for a small crowd. I was fairly relaxed when I arrived there. I ordered a Full Blast lemon flavour drink and took my seat. Initially we were the only ones there but a few minutes before the actual showing more people came. Eventually there were around 20 people in their seats, including me. I felt ok as they were sitting a distance from me.

FILM REVIEW

All of the best parts for me were the action and the comedy moments.

I thought it was funny how Captain America’s foul mouth became a regular occurrence. The other funny moments involved people trying to up Thor’s Hammer and the character Ultron.

I actually thought Ultron was amusing and it seems like he saw memories of all the avengers and took on most of their personalities. However, his personality is dominated by Tony Stark as he was the one who was trying to create him. I think Ultron is a complex individual and his intentions for humans to “evolve” are good but very twisted. I actually think he’s similar to Magneto in many aspects but probably not as complex as him. Ultron wasn’t doing bad things for the sake it, very much like Magneto.

I was a bit worried when Ultron did whatever he did to J.A.R.V.I.S. by trying to hack him or take him over. However, it turns out that J.A.R.V.I.S. didn’t get completely put down by Ultron and eventually became Vision with the help of Tony, Hulk and Thor. Vision became really cool and a bit of a complex character in his own right. I always wanted J.A.R.V.I.S. to do more as I think he really adds a lot to the story, and by becoming Vision it must have been rewarding for him. =)

It was simply humorous when Vision, or J.A.R.V.I.S. picked up Thor’s hammer and gave it to him casually. It sort of makes sense since that weird crystal thing is one of the most powerful gem crystal things in the whole universe. I think that gem combined with Tony’s technology created a brilliant humanoid. Vision said one of the best lines, “I was born yesterday.” I’ve never heard that line used in that way before. I was going to use that in my story but Marvel and Vision beat me to it. Haha. Not only did he have a good personality but his moves and powers were simply brilliant and with the help of Thor and Iron Man took out Ultron. =)

One of the best moments and fights for me had to be when Iron Man fought Hulk. He used that suit, Veronica, which was intentionally designed to keep the Incredible Hulk at bay. It was a bit like the Thunderbirds moment when his suit, Veronica, came from space and became a battle suit. I never known a satellite could also perform as a battle suit and I think it’s awesome. =D It was pretty intense and whilst I was really rooting for Iron Man to win I also didn’t want to see Hulk delve into any more despair. Luckily, Iron Man knocked him out before he could suffer anymore.

I was on the lookout for Quicksilver and Scarlett Witch. I knew they appeared in the Captain America: Winter Soldier film but for the life of me I couldn’t spot them anywhere. Of course, it all clicked when they appeared in this film. I knew they were siblings but I didn’t think they were the “twins” that appeared in the second Captain America film. I felt a bit daft for not realising that sooner but hindsight is a wonderful thing. =) I like them both. Scarlett Witch has those good abilities and Quicksilver can run really fast. A bit sad that they killed him off in the end, but… is he really dead? Or, are they trying to make us think that he’s dead?

Seeing Scarlett Witch and Quicksilver in this film makes me wish that the X-Men, especially Magneto, were part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I know in the Marvel Comics Iron Man goes toe to toe with Magneto and Magneto asks Iron Man to find his children, Scarlett Witch and Quicksilver. It would be nice if the Dad could meet his children but so far that won’t happen anytime soon. However, in the X-Men related films Magneto does meet Quicksilver in X-Men: Days of Future Past, but Scarlett Witch doesn’t appear in that film.

Anyway, the action was really exciting from Hulk busting people up, Thor using his lightning like a god and normal people like Captain America and Black Widow fighting with cool realistic stunts. Scarlett Witch’s telekinesis and hypnotic skills are great to see but I still like Iron Man and his suit of armour.

Black Widow’s romantic developed with Hulk was a little weird as I don’t really recall them getting close. As I recall Hulk went ballistic and chased after her. Haha. Perhaps I’ve missed something or there were hints in The Avengers Assemble film that I missed or forgot. I don’t disapprove of them as a couple, I just found it odd. =)

It’s great to see Nick Fury or rather, Samuel L. Jackson in the film and he helped out rescuing the people from that floating city. It’s nice to see Maria Hill as well and I’m pleased that Hawkeye became more relevant. I never knew he had a family and that secret worked well for him. =) I would have thought Pepper would have made an appearance but she was just mentioned. It’s disgraceful, haha. It’s great seeing War Machine and Falcon making small cameos, I never thought they would appear in the actual Avengers films.

I’m not sure who that villain at the end is supposed to be. Did he appear in Guardians of the Galaxy? I personally think he’s someone completely new as I don’t really recall seeing him at all. I don’t think he’s from out of space as that arm looks like is a human technology. In fact, I think it looks similar to Iron Man’s arm. Is he connected with that Hydra group that appeared at the beginning of the film?

Overall, I really, really enjoyed this film. I was slightly nervous as I thought Tony Stark was going to be the villain in the eyes of his Avengers compatriots as he was creating a weapon of mass destruction. Plus, Ultron’s personality is mostly based on Tony and Tony is not exactly the most selfless individual you would ever see. He’s also a mad scientist so he’s not the most sensible to begin with. In the end I’m glad all ended well… ignoring Quicksilver’s “death”.

I’m not sure if I will go and watch any more films at the cinema this year, I will have to see how I feel in the future. I do quite fancy Ant-Man so I may go and watch that. I always worry and get anxious through the anticipation of going out but I always manage to cope. =)

Right now, I’m going to get hot chocolate and watch episode six of Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? I really like that anime and it’s one of the things that I look forward to on a Friday night… or Saturday morning, as it is now. The Second Light Novel book is on root to my house and I’m going to give it a good read as soon as it arrives. =D

I really wouldn’t be surprised if the Mangaka[1] of Food Wars used to be a chef. The type of ingredients and dish that has been shown in this anime are really top notch and I doubt that someone could make them up without a great deal of research. I worked in the kitchen back when I was at college and there’s no way that I would have been able to conjure up that type of food.

I always wondered what the term “shokugeki” means and I finally found out through Isshiki’s explanation. Basically, it’s a cook-off between two people who wish to battle each other. In this case, Soma wants to battle Isshiki but he declined Soma’s challenge. I think that’s probably for the best, I too would not want to see Soma lose.

Erina was completely ruthless when she beat that leader of the sumo Chanko Hot Pot Research Society. She completely demolished the building after the shokugeki battle between the two. Are all the buildings in the academy seriously in use? Why does Erina need any more? It seems like she’s abusing her authority just because she can and she doesn’t really care who she crushes as it’s all for the good of the academy.

That visualisation of Erina swimming and walking on that island was both pleasant on the eye and hilarious. I knew something funny was about to happen but I didn’t foresee a herd of hippos coming. Haha. How does Erina possess such a wild and vivid imagination? I’m not complaining though as those visualisations are fun to watch. =D

It was implied that Isshiki was holding back after he “drew” with Soma in the cook-off. That would make a lot of sense as there needs to be a biggish gap between the Elite Ten and Soma. It would be fun to watch Soma gradually reach the same level as the Elite Ten through time.

I wouldn’t be surprised if there were other dorms in the academy. If there is than I wonder if there could potentially be Shokugeki battles between dorms, like the Polar Star Dorm versus the Joe Bloggs Dorm. I think that would be pretty awesome and I would really like to see Soma team up with Megumi and Isshiki. =)
I wonder who that new girl is. I also wonder who the “target” is.

I’m going to make a big guess now and say that she’s going to challenge someone from the Polar Star gang and it will be either Megumi or Soma. Fumio hinted that everyone in the current Polar Star dorm is nowhere good enough to be part of the Elite Ten, apart from Isshiki. That makes me think that the “weak targets” will be those from the Polar Star. =)

THANKS FOR READING

I just want to make a shout out to the royal family to say congratulations to William and Kate on having a healthy baby girl. =) I think it was really cool that a small town crier delivered the news. I would have liked to have done that myself. =D

What does any think they’ll name her? I’m going to throw traditional names on the table such as Mary and Elizabeth but I personally believe they’ll name her Victoria. Perhaps her middle name will be Jane or May? I don’t think middle names are a necessity but quite a lot of people have them.

Thanks for Reading. =)
Sayonara.^^/

Ryan.

[1] A Mangaka is the author and artist of the manga that he/she writes and draws.

A lot has happened in November, especially around the time when I went to London. I found that even though I came back home, I still couldn’t really relax my mind. It seemed that everything was happening at once and I was dealing with lots of things at the same time. If it’s one thing, I usually find a way to work with it. However, too many things give me a head mush. At that point it did feel like my head was about to explode.

To cut a long story short, I had to make a decision whether I wanted to go to a surprise birthday gathering and to WWE Monday Night Raw with a few of my peeps. For the life of me I could not decide what I wanted to do. I enjoy celebrating the happiness of other people but I decided to reject the party invitation in the end. There would be lots of people there that I did not know. I didn’t fancy it in the end and decided not to go.

*

I haven’t watched Raw in weeks. I sort of lost interest in WWE since Daniel Bryan and Bad News Barrett became absent. Did I really want to go to this live event when I wasn’t feeling very well? Not just any event, but an event that I’m not really that into at the moment. I literally decided to go in the last minute, an hour before I was being picked up.

It was at that point when I started to rush around. I had a shower, washed my hair, picked out my clothes and had dinner. I got it in my head as well that we were eating out, but I received a text explaining that we weren’t…oh my. So, with quick thinking, I had jacket potato with melted cheese. I fancied doing beans but as I was on my own I didn’t want to risk doing anything to myself. It’s one thing to harm myself if my parents were around, but if I’m on my home and cooking, that could spell trouble…

I tried to relax, but I couldn’t fully relax. I felt sick, dizzy, had a poorly chest and was eating a luke warm jacket spud. Haha…you’ve got to laugh in those situations. =) I decided to go to Raw as I already paid for my ticket, and, it could be interesting.

Liverpool

The other reason I didn’t want to travel to Raw is because it was in Liverpool. Travelling to this city appears to be a bad omen to me. Throughout my life, every time I go to Liverpool, something goes wrong. It’s not that I dislike Liverpool it’s just that Liverpool dislikes me. XD

I was going to college (which borders Liverpool) but went to the completely wrong campus! I think the driver was taking me to the technology campus. So, I was an hour and a half late for my first college class…. Later on, it was established that I was in the wrong class. Then, it was established that I was actually in on the wrong day. So yeah… I won’t forget about that day in a hurry!

My Dad was taking me to Liverpool, since he used to be the kit man for a none-league side, when we broke down… the policeman helped us, but he came up to me and said ‘this is all your fault!’ It took us a full day to travel back home.

I went to Liverpool to support the Foundation Degree students by watching one of their theatrical productions. However, we got completely lost and had to turn back. We asked for directions but none of the locals knew where the performance location was… silly people.

I was going to perform as the violinist at the Maritime Museum and we were going to take the train, but…the train was cancelled so we had to walk in the scorching heat, take 4 buses, one underground train, and we made it with 15 minutes to spare. We only had time for one full rehearsal.

We went to the theatre to watch Jonathan Pryce in a Harold Pinter production, but the show was cancelled because he was ill…

I really hoped that this trip to WWE would break my trend. I’m sure some day Liverpool and I can settle a truce and drink a J2O like old buddies. =) …that night wasn’t going to be one of those days though, as an incident occurred. It’s a recurring joke that I bring bad luck to Liverpool, but what happened was not a funny matter.

There was a car crash on the motorway involving four cars, which in turn made the roads very busy. I felt instantly bad. I thought “they had a crash because I came to Liverpool.” Thinking rationally now, that’s not really the case. Accidents happen all the time, especially when drivers get impatient on the road. Regardless of everything, I pray that they are all safe and recovering at the speed of light.^^/

WWE Monday Night Raw

We just made it with five minutes to spare. It was an absolute rush. I don’t handle travelling very well, I tend to get sick. I felt unwell to begin with, but the long journey didn’t really settle me. It unsettled me more when we had to rush to our seats, and that took a while too. A gent actually hijacked one of our seats so we had to ask him to move.

The show started pretty quickly. Well, actually, it began with WWE Superstars. Then, it went to WWE Raw. All the while I was still battling with my emotions and tried to focus on the show. The trick I used was taking photos and video clips for my Uncle. I sat on an end isle seat as I could escape whenever I want. However, the Echo arena was a very big arena and I didn’t really fancy getting lost in that building. Haha.

The biggest chants were “Where’s our network?” Apparently, this does not bode well with the WWE officials. When Raw was on TV, they edited this out as best as they could. Other bigger chants were Miz and Mizdown, Dolph Ziggler, Big Show, Sheamus and the crowd.

The crowd were bantering with each other. If the match bored them then they would find a way to entertain themselves. One guy held up a sign but he had that confiscated by a security gent and everyone chanted “you sold out!” The biggest boos were directed at another security guard. The bottom crowd were playing around with a beach ball during the Sheamus and Rusev match. He got heavily boo’d when he confiscated the beach ball, probably more than Cena. They chanted “you suck!”

The intro was funny, when everyone chanted “John Cena sucks” that went along with his entrance song. The UK really does have a good crowd.^^/

I didn’t join in with any of the banter as my head was really bad and I felt unwell. The sheer noise was not very pleasant, and it did detract from the Raw show somewhat.

Paige got a few standing ovations. I know I stood up and clapped, and I even went down a few steps so I could snap a good picture of her. =) I liked how Lilian Garcia sang our national anthem, it was sweet and touching. Some of the top tier crowd were booing though and chanting about the network. I thought that was disrespectful and in bad taste, but I just ignored them and listened to the anthem.

I also liked the Sting promo and Triple H making an appearance. I kept on anticipating Bad News Barrett making a sudden appearance though, and was gutted when he didn’t.

When the show finished we all darted out asap. I thought the show was ok but I was certainly glad when it was over. I would say that I’ve enjoyed last year’s Raw more, this year I somewhat lost interest in WWE and I was going through a lot this time around. I am focusing on what I enjoyed about the show though, rather than recalling what went through my mind at that moment. I know I’m talking all about it now, but I’m feeling much better and more open to talk about it. =)

Going home

I was asked if I wanted to take a detour to McDonalds on the way home. I declined. It didn’t matter whether I was hungry or not, I just wanted to go home. When I got home my Dad bought me and my Mum McDonalds. I was pleasantly surprised as I didn’t know that there were any McDonalds that were open 24/7.

I’m not a fast food lover, but sometimes fast food is better than no food. 😉

THANKS FOR READING

I was spotted on TV courtesy of a close friend. It’s a blur, but my T-Shirt has made it on TV. I was spotted during Paige’s entrance. Haha. Fame at last. =D Here is the picture.^^/

I wasn’t going to upload this blog until I give account of the 1st Year Anniversary blog, which I plan to post on the 16th November. I’m still recovering from a very busy couple of days. However, my gut instinct told me to upload this blog right now instead of waiting.

With all that is said and done, I can finally relax. I have nothing pressing to focus on. It’s always important to remember to focus on the positive points. It can be hard at times when your head is in a mush, but it’s not impossible. And I like to think that I’m capable of doing that, even when I’m not in the best state of mind.

I endure a lot inside with my Autistic quirks but I always mask my face and feelings with a smile. =)

Like most people with Autism I like familiarity, especially when I go out to badminton and yoga. It’s not just about familiarity with the same people; it involves a number of factors. What clothes I will be wearing, what time I will be going, for how long, what I will need to take with me, who is it to pay and what shuttlecocks we will be using. It may surprise you but with us Autistic folks, the smallest of things can actually be the biggest.

With yoga last night, I was out of my comfort zone. A new yogi instructor was present in place of Callie. This did put me out as I wasn’t expecting a new yoga instructor at all. I also didn’t expect so many people turning up, since the sun has been shining beautifully in the sky as of late. So, I felt squashed by the huge crowd and there was a new yoga instructor to accustom myself to. I did my best to try and remain positive although being caught off guard and being out of my comfort zone, it wasn’t easy.

I was able to cope in the end but unfortunately I wasn’t able to relax, I was rather too intense to be able to chill out. It partly made me weary and initially I told myself that I’m not going to go next week. What if Callie isn’t there again? What if the room is going to be crowded again? But then, I listened to some Non Non Biyori music, had a bath, watched football, spoke to my family members and now I’m able to think rationally…

I was basically thinking too much. It’s that thing of when my imagination play tricks with me. What’s the point of anticipating situations that may or may not happen? One of the teachings of yoga, which I adhere too very passionately, is living in the moment. Don’t think about situations that may happen in the future. How do you know what will happen? Instead of anticipating moments, just handle those moments if they happen. And that philosophy is the kind of philosophy I’m trying to achieve with a smile on my face. =)

*

I’m really enjoying the World Cup. This is probably the best World cup in years, at least in my opinion.

I mentioned in my previous blog that I fear for England’s chances of advancing to the knockout stage. In their previous match they lost 2-1 to Italy.

It was certainly a valiant effort on their parts. Raheem Sterling looked very positive going forward, when he fired that shot in the third minute I honestly thought he had scored. XD We played decent Football, we had some good tempo going on and we closed Italy down at appropriate times. However, I felt that we fell short on the technical and mental aspects of the match. We lost focus at crucial times and perhaps got a little careless when giving the ball away. Perhaps fatigue came into play? When it came to passing I felt that Italy outplayed us in that regard. They’re all about technique and passing the ball around. Hopefully England would have learned from this and will do their very best against Uruguay tonight. =)

I’ve been invited to my sister’s house to watch the Football there. At this moment in time I feel like watching at home, but, instead of making a rash decision now I’m just going to see how I feel tomorrow. =)